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Index To All Five Chapters
Also See The New Apostolic Reformation - Apostles Or Deluded Impostors
And
Prophets or Charlatans
ON THIS PAGE
Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
A. Theonomy Vs. Theocracy
The Reasons Why A Theocracy is Not Biblical
1.) Freedom of Choice
2.) God's Never Gave Specific Laws To Any Gentile Nation
3.) A Theocracy is an Unrealistic, Nay, Impossible Goal.
B. The Christian And Politics
Should Christians Even Be Involved In Politics?
Not only does the Bible indicate that we should not interfere in the place we temporarily live in,
but tells us how we should conduct ourselves while we are sojourning here.
Introduction - Theonomy Vs. Theocracy
The ultimate goal on the Dominionist agenda is the establishment of a theocracy - a government ruled by or subject to religious authority. And by no means is only America in their sights. Their aim is to (by force if necessary) "subdue' all nations and establish a universal Christian 'theocracy. (Note: apart from technical differences the terms theocracy and theonomy are essentially synonymous).
Theocracy is derived from the Greek words theos (God) and kratia (to rule). It has traditionally been used to describe a place that is under God's law (ex. Israel in the Old Testament), or a place under the authority of those who are believed to be God appointed leaders
Theonomy derived from the Greek words theos (God) and nomos (law or custom) is simply obedience to God's law. Thus theonomists are simply people who keep God's commandments which, broadly speaking, would apply to all true believers. However, there are those who assert that theonomy means that the Old Testament moral and judicial laws are universal laws that apply to every aspect of human life and must therefore be adhered to by everyone.
Thus the question we need to ask ourselves is whether Theonomy or a Theocracy is Biblical.
The short answer is No! Absolutely not!. And here are the reasons why.
The Reasons Why A Theocracy is Not Biblical
1.) Freedom of Choice
There is little question that obedience to God's laws is commanded throughout Scripture. However, God has ALWAYS given people the freedom to choose whether or not they will obey His laws - the benefits of doing so and the consequences of disobedience repeatedly made perfectly clear. Take Deuteronomy for example. The first verse reads (All Emphasis Added)
Now it shall be, IF you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. (Deuteronomy 28:1 NASB)
The next several verses (2-14) list all the benefits of obeying the Father. This is followed by a rather long and detailed list (Verse 15-68) of what would happen IF they did not comply with the Father's commands.
But it shall come about, If you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you (Deuteronomy 28:15 NASB)
Deuteronomy 30 largely reiterates the blessings and curses. Verse 19 records the Father as saying "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,
Joshua gave the nation the same choice. Although he and his house had made their decision to serve only the Lord, he told the people that if it was disagreeable in their sight to do the same, they could choose for themselves whom they would serve: whether the gods their fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land they were living (Joshua 24:15 NASB). However, a few verses later he added the following warning,
If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you." (Joshua 24:20 NASB)
In the New Testament, Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15 NASB)
They ALL had freedom of choice.
To force religious laws on society makes a mockery of the concept of free will.
2.) God Never Gave A Single Specific Law To Any Gentile Nation
Those who wish to establish a Theocracy seem to be oblivious to the fact that the Old Testament judicial laws were only given to the nation of Israel. Just prior to Israel entering and conquering Canaan and before reiterating the Ten Commandments Moses told them,
So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. "The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it. (Deuteronomy 4:13-14 NASB)
Virtually all human being instinctively know that certain actions like stealing, physically harming or murdering another person are morally wrong and they don't necessarily require formal statutes to tell them so. Thus, in light of the fact that they had never been given any specific commandments, the Lord only judged the Gentile nations for violating the moral or natural laws that they knew were wrong. As Romans 2:14 says,
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, (Romans 2:14 NASB)
Amos chapter 1 bears ample evidence of God's judgment of Gentile nations (in this case the nations bordering Palestine) NOT on the commandments given Israel but because they violated His moral law
Amos 1:3-5 - Judgment on Damascus, the capital of Syria because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. (Verse 3)
Amos 1:6-8 - Judgment on Gaza, a city of the Philistines because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom. (Verse 6)
Amos 1:9-10 - Judgment on Tyre, a city of Lebanon because they delivered up an entire population to Edom and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. (Verse 9)
Amos 1:11-12 - Judgment on Edom because he pursued his brother with the sword, stifled his compassion, his anger also tore continually, and he maintained his fury forever. (Verse 11)
Amos 1:13-15 - Judgment on Ammon because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their borders. (Verse 13)
Also consider the Assyrians, an aggressive and cruel people who conquered the Northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. When told by the prophet Jonah that their capital Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days, the Ninevites repented and the city was spared. However, history tells us their repentance was fairly short-lived causing God to then send another prophet (Nahum) to the city. This time however, they ignored the warning message resulting in their destruction in 612 BC.
In summary, specific Biblical law peculiar to the Old Covenant do not bind Gentile nations. However, every individual on the face of the earth is under God's natural law.
Note: It is hardly surprising that the Old Testament's main focus was the nation of Israel and the laws and worship practices given them by God simply because all the rituals, laws, feast etc were a shadow or precursor of greater things to come. See for example The Seven Feasts of Israel.
3.) A Theocracy is an Unrealistic, Nay, Impossible Goal.
Not only do most religions have their own version of a moral code but most human beings have an inbuilt sense of right and wrong. The problem is that none of us fully lives up to what we believe or even the dictates of our own consciences..
In Paul's letter to the Romans, he said 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23 NASB) which is undeniably true. It is even more true that as we have seen in the world around us, society cannot and will not live a moral life and righteous regardless of how many laws are in place, nor how severe the consequences of flouting them are. As the Old Testament prophet so succinctly expressed it...
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).\
We do not have to look at the Hitlers, Putins, or Pol Pots of this world to prove what is being said here. Anyone who takes a long, hard, and honest look at themselves will discover that they are very much part of the problem. Have you ever taken, or even coveted, something that wasn't yours. Have you ever slept with someone that wasn't your spouse, or even thought about it? (Matthew 5:28). Have you lied, harbored evil thoughts towards someone, or cheated them in any way? Have you scorned or despised someone less fortunate than yourself? Have you been less than kind or generous to the needy?
Human nature has to be changed to make it fit for the kingdom. Without that transformation there will never be serenity, security, or harmony in God's coming kingdom - this amply proved by man's history.
It was not without good reason that Jesus told Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3 NASB) In the New Testament being "born again" refers to something God does when we turn to him with repentance and faith. It is not just a temporary emotional or mystical high but a new beginning.
My point being that we don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of successfully establishing a theocracy (or anything else you wish to call it) unless the entire population has been born again. And that certainly isn't going to happen.
However, I can imagine that the term "born again" can be very confusing to many people in more ways than one. Many might simply wonder how in the world someone can be born a second time. Others associate the phrase with a new lease on life or even an ardent, earnest, and devoted form of Christianity. Yet others visualize very "emotional" people.
While the terms may very well incorporate some of the above, there is undoubtedly much more to it. Being Born Again of God is commonly believed to be in a figurative rather than a literal sense. But what if it is not? What if this being Born Again of God, or being fathered by God, involves very literal physical changes, which leads to a total transformation of the person?
See Born Again
AND
Original Sin Or Epigenetics
Since there are innumerable passages of Scripture that clearly and unambiguously tell us that no person can bear the guilt of another - that everyone will answer for their own sins and misdeeds, and that our eternal destiny is determined by our conduct, not inheritance, we can not simply accept that we are sinners because Adam sinned. But, on the other hand, what we cannot ignore is that Paul does make a direct connection between the sin of Adam and the fallen condition of the entire race. In Romans 5 Paul seems to be saying that something happened to all humanity because of Adam’s sin. Which begs the question - What exactly was it that Adam passed down to his descendants?
Also See Sin, Repentance and Salvation on THIS Page
Should Christians Involve Themselves in Politics?
The Coming Kingdom...
Completely contradicting the many who believe the core of Jesus' primary message was 'love', Mark clearly and concisely summarized Jesus' ministry
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15 NASB)
Jesus Himself defined His purpose in light of the kingdom.
I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." (Luke 4:43 NASB)
And this wasn't the only time the Savior spoke about God's kingdom. In fact, the Greek phrase "kingdom of God" (Basileia tou Theou) appears over 50 times in the New Testament gospels, almost always on the Savior's lips. Many of Jesus’ parables were designed to tell us something about this kingdom: He likened it to a mustard seed, a treasure hidden in a field, an extremely valuable pearl, a dragnet cast into the sea, and a king who gave a banquet (Matthew 13:31-50; 22).
Note: Although he did use "the kingdom of God" on four occasions (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43), Matthew favored the synonymous phrase kingdom of heaven (Basileia ton Ourano) that appears over 30 times in his Gospel.
See What Was the Core of Jesus’ Message?
And What And Where is Heaven?
... That We Are Citizens of
The kingdom Jesus came to announce is the 'heaven' believers live in anticipation of. However, one fact that we need to pay attention to is that both the Old Testament fathers of faith and the apostles considered themselves to be aliens on the earth. In other words, they knew that did not belong to the world they lived in.
In fact, all the men and women in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews "confessed that they were strangers and exiles on earth" (V. 13) who desired and were "seeking a country of their own" (V. 14) - a heavenly one that they knew God was preparing for them (V. 16). In other words, the Hebrew patriarchs lived and acted as aliens passing through in search of a permanent habitation only (at least in Abraham's case) asking for enough land to bury their dead.
And nothing changed in the New Testament. Paul told the Philippians that their "citizenship is in heaven" (3:20)
In other word, they too were aliens.
I have to wonder how many believers have thought through the implications of Paul's statement. An 'alien' is a person who owes allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives. There is no question that we cannot entirely separate ourselves from the country we were born in or have adopted (Even Paul referred to Judah as 'his nation'. See for example Acts 24:17; 28:19; Galatians 1:14).
But we need to bear in mind that
no alien has the right to interfere in the affairs of the land.
Much to the contrary
Believers Are 'Called Out'
Not only did Jesus never attempt to use political methods to reform the government but He told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).
In fact, He went a lot further, calling His followers OUT of this world. Note the following,
In virtually every case the English word 'church' was translated from the Greek ekklesia - a compound word made up of ek, a preposition that means 'out of' or 'out from' and a derivative of the verb kaleo - to 'call' or 'call forth'. In other words ekklesia is a noun that means "called out of" and was used of a regularly convened assembly such as the ancient Greek political assemblies or a select civil body that was summoned for a particular purpose. As Scripture tells us,
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. (2 Corinthians 6:17 NASB)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (I Peter 2:9)
See The Church... Then and Now. Part I - "Church"- An Unacceptable Translation of Ekklesia
However, we need to bear in mind that when someone is "called out" they have to be called out from something - it is only the context that tells us from what. In keeping with the Bible's overriding theme of separation and holiness, believers are "called out" or called to be separate from the world - one of the two Biblical definitions of "Holiness".
See What Is Holiness?
We Are Ambassadors of the Almighty...
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul called us "ambassadors for Christ" - an ambassador being an official and authorized representative of his or her country stationed in another nation.
Being Christ's ambassadors means that we are representatives of the Savior and as such are required to follow His policies and examples to the best of our ability. Yet although Jesus NEVER embroiled Himself in politics, not did He EVER use political methods to try and get the government to adhere to His commandments we throw ourselves headlong into politics endeavoring to do just that. As said by Martin G. Collins.
Though they live in a foreign nation, ambassadors take no part of their host nation's political or military institutions, yet the ambassador is expected to adhere to the laws of the foreign land. An American ambassador to China knows well that his host government is seriously opposed to his own. He does not serve the Chinese government, enter into its politics, try to eradicate the evils of its system, vote in its elections, join its army, or advocate for its causes. Yet he subjects himself to Chinese laws that concern him while there, endeavoring to behave in a way that will best represent the interests of the U.S. government.
In the same way, Christian’s are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. We are called to become part of a totally different society, and while living in this world, we must represent God and abide by His laws and standards, which supersede those of men when they conflict. Like the worldly ambassador, a Christian should not involve himself in the affairs of an opposing government but must abide by its rules as best he can. He must live as a citizen of heaven and an ambassador for Jesus Christ first and foremost. [01]
As "ambassadors for Christ" we are representatives of the Almighty and following the example of our leader should not involve ourselves in the affairs of our temporary home. We are obliged to abide by the rules of the country we currently live in - unless those rules oppose God's laws.
Yet in the never ending fight for power and control even the staunchest of believers have forgotten what the word 'alien' as used in the New Testament means, whose ambassadors they, what country they are citizens of, or where their allegiance lies.
Also we need to pay attention to the fact that God has ALWAYS given people the freedom to choose whether or not they will obey His law. When it came to Israel, the benefits of doing so and the consequences of disobedience made perfectly clear.
The fact that His law was never given to any other nation should tell us that people who may belong to another religion or do not believe in God at all are NOT required to follow Judeo-Christian ethic. And that includes the sanctity of human life, marriage between a man and woman etc While we rightly find abortion and same sex relations more than reprehensible we have no right to try and force non believers to obey our God's laws.
All we can do is preach the Gospel and pray they become believers.
Political Parties.
Esp. The Republican Party
Additionally, all too many seem to be laboring under the delusion that the 'R' after someone's name means that they are a member of 'God's party'. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The 'R' does not stand for 'righteous' but simply means that the person has identified himself with a political faction. Sadly, even so called political conservatism is miles away from the Bible's standards of morality.
The fact remains that no political party - no human leader - is capable of governing others righteously unaffected by partisan politics, special interest groups and anyone else with an axe to grind.
And if you still think it is okay to immerse yourself in politics and all the infighting, bickering, and constant jostling for power (that has become an integral part of the system) perhaps you need to stop a moment and think about what Paul told the spiritually immature church in Corinth who were showing preference for one spiritual leaders over another. He said
for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. (1 Corinthians 3:3-5 NASB)
The word 'fleshly was translated 'carnal' by the KJV - a word that means governed by human nature. Note that Paul did not say that they were mere men but that they were behaving like mere men - they were not thinking and acting carnally rather than spiritually.
If Paul could say this when people were siding with various apostles, what in the world do you think he would say if confronted with believers siding with human political candidates all too many of whom are a few hundred miles away from 'holy'. The fact remains that neither parties standards are anywhere near God's standards of righteousness.
Although Matthew 6:24 specifically applies to wealth the principle is the same - no man can serve two masters ().
Our allegiance is to God and God alone.
Our Role On Earth
Paul urged that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men including "for kings and all who are in authority". He goes on to tell us why - "so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" (I Timothy 2:1-2). He then added,
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (1 Timothy 2:3 NASB)
But note what Paul said and did not say. He said we should pray for whoever is in authority. He did not say to pray about who should be in authority
Admittedly, it can be extremely difficult to pray for some, if not many of the people in power when one is more inclined to see them banished to Siberia. But let us not ever forget that nothing is impossible for our God who at one time even caused the Persian kings to favor the return of the Jews to their land and to begin rebuilding their temple.
Peter summed up what our role is here on earth
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1 Peter 2:11-15 NASB)
In other words, keep your head down, submit to the laws of the land, pray for the leaders so that you will be able to live a quiet and peaceful life which is the best we can hope for during our sojourn. And while you are here preach the Gospel to as many as possible and do whatever good you can.
Live a life of strict integrity that best represents the God we serve and gives the non believer no reason whatsoever to point his finger at you.
Continue To Chapter VI - Joel's Army. It is entirely possible that the Joel's Army delusion will bring about the events prophesied to take place at the opening of the Fourth Seal when, as Jesus said, everyone who kills you thinks that he is offering service to God (John 16:2). HERE
End Notes
[01] Martin G. Collins. Would Jesus Christ Vote? (Part Three). Forerunner, "Bible Study," October 26, 2016.
https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/library/biblestudy/id/1712/would-jesus-christ-vote-part-three.htm
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